Most people would say they have stress, and they need to beat stress; some are even praying The Serenity Prayer. While many seek peace within, most don’t know the original version of what they think of as The Serenity Prayer. If they did, many more people would use this Prayer, and more often.

First, here’s the form many people think is the whole prayer:

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

The prayer speaks to claiming your peace within through not trying to change what can’t be changed, through taking action where you can, and through discernment. The prayer was made famous through 12-Step programs such as Alchoholics Anonymous. But you don’t need to be a member of such a program to get a quick stress tuneup from it. Read it through 3 times slowly, to start feeling your whole metabolism relax and start to release stress.

And still, this is only a piece of the complete poem by Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971):

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.

Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world

As it is, not as I would have it;

Trusting that He will make all things right

If I surrender to His Will;

That I may be reasonably happy in this life

And supremely happy with Him

Forever in the next.

Amen

The complete poem is more of a complete program for managing our life energies: accept what is, make change as you can, enjoy what you can, know that challenges grow you, trust God, follow His will, reap the rewards of a happy life. Are you feeling your peace within rising, and your stress draining, yet? Are you thinking of putting a copy of the complete piece on your bathroom mirror? If it moves you, why not?

For those who like scriptures, each of the concepts in the poem refer to specific scriptures, chiefly Proverbs 3:5-6:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

And lean not on our own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge him,

And he will direct your paths.

In other words, trust and let it be.

And finally, on a lighter note, we have this modern takeoff, The Senility Prayer (author unknown):

God grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked,

The good fortune to run into the ones I do,

And the eyesight to tell the difference.

I hope you chuckled at that one. So how will you run your life this day? Screen out what you can’t control, bless your lessons, and enjoy what you can. Trust and let it be. And that’s Upbeat Living!

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Energy – Peace – Meditation

Kebba Buckley Button is a stress management expert. She also has a natural healing practice and is an ordained minister. She is the author of the award-winning book, Discover The Secret Energized You (http://tinyurl.com/b44v3br), plus the 2013 book, Peace Within: Your Peaceful Inner Core, Second Edition(http://tinyurl.com/mqg3uvc ). Her newest book is Sacred Meditation: Embracing the Divine, available through her office. Just email SacredMeditation@kebba.com.

For an appointment or to ask Kebba to speak for your group: bookings@kebba.com .